Southern Santa Barbara Real Estate March Overview
Southern Santa Barbara, stretching from Carpinteria to Gaviota, offers a unique blend of coastal charm and competitive real estate dynamics. As we move through March 2025, the region’s housing market reflects both opportunities and challenges for buyers, sellers, and investors.
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Santa Barbara Real Estate Insights
The Fire
Nearly a hundred thousand Los Angeles County residents are still under evacuation orders as of Monday, January 13, and with more than 10,000 homes, schools, or other structures completely destroyed by fires from Pacific Palisades to Altadena to Sylmar, many are seeking refuge just up the coast in Santa Barbara.
Personal accounts posted on social media show frantic families packing their cherished belongings into cars and looking for anywhere safe. As evacuation centers in Los Angeles began to rapidly fill up, some jumped on Highway 101 northbound to find shelter on the Central Coast.
By the weekend, Santa Barbara hotels were filling up with people affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. On Saturday, Visit Santa Barbara announced a special lodging rate for evacuees at 25 different locations, with some offering 25-30 percent discounts or rooms for prices as low as $129 per night.
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Rent Control, Proposition 33, and Proposition 13
In this post we will address some of the pros and cons of Rent Control and how reforming Proposition 13 could help California’s current housing crisis. Proposition 33 aimed to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act which currently limits the scope of rent control in California. On November 5, 2024 Californian voters voted 60% to 40% against the passing of Proposition 33.
Home Prices and Market Trends
Home prices in Santa Barbara continue to fluctuate, presenting a mixed picture for buyers and sellers. While the median listing home price currently averages around $2.6 million, data from Zillow indicates that home values have increased overall by 7.2% over the past year. This rise, however, comes with neighborhood variations in values. Prime neighborhoods with homes in excellent condition, priced realistically, are moving. Homebuyers taking part in this market should brace themselves for possible bidding wars, particularly in the better neighborhoods. August sales in 2024 were up from the same time in 2023.
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Santa Barbara Real Estate Trends
The Santa Barbara real estate market trends for 2024 have been admirable. In the first half of the year, there were 625 sales, a 12% increase compared to last year. While single-family detached homes accounted for 446 homes sold, reflecting a 15% increase over the same period as last year, condominiums and townhomes accounted for 179 homes sold, a 7% increase.
The average sales price for single-family detached homes rose by 14% to $3,714,928 while the median price rose by 7% to $2,250,000.
The average sales price for condominiums decreased by 3% to $1,135,143 and the median price rose 5% to $975,000.
In the second quarter of this year, all cash sales made up 42% of all sales, a 2% increase from the same period last year.
Inventory supply has picked up. The inventory supply has climbed to its highest level since 2020. Sitting at just over 3 months. Source: Fidelity National Title Company.
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Mid Year Update
Looking back at the last six months the south coast of Santa Barbara, spanning from Goleta to Carpinteria, we’ve not...
Market Update – A Closer Look
The real estate market in Santa Barbara continues to remain vibrant even with high interest rates and low inventory. As the year progresses our unique coastal community continues to attract interest and investment in Santa Barbara real estate.
Year to date the market is up 14% on the total number of homes sold since this time last year. Property values continue to climb with the average price up 6%. The average time for a home to be on the market is around 30 days.
Nationally internal and external forces are accelerating change in today’s real estate market. The market continues to be strong and is not crashing. Prices are rising as the economy continues to expand.
Real concerns are affordability as homeownership shrinks and rates are expected to remain elevated. Another concern is the real estate industry is changing since the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors prevailed and realtors are trying to navigate the new landscape for real estate sales. Consumers need real estate agents but it may be a little early to see how this will play out.
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Are Home Prices Rising?
Are Home Prices Rising? The real estate market here in Santa Barbara continues to remain buoyant even with high interest rates. As the year progresses our unique coastal community continues to attract interest and investment in Santa Barbara real estate.
Keep in mind that all real estate is local. What may be happening somewhere else in California could be completely different from what you’re experiencing.
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3112 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93105
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